


A Stuck-Out Tongue

by CreativityTheEmotion



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativityTheEmotion/pseuds/CreativityTheEmotion
Summary: Pearl helps Steven find his phone.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	A Stuck-Out Tongue

"I can't _believe_ you've had your phone for a month, and you haven't used it at all!" Amethyst shouted out, as she and Pearl entered Steven's house, with him intently watching the two, deep in contemplation.

"That's not true! I use it to tell the time!" Pearl declared back, triumphantly, as though she had it all figured out.

"Yeah, whatever, just..." Amethyst glanced over the house, spotting the troubled half-gem. "Steven can explain it all to you. After all, what do I know about humans? I'm just an overcooked quartz soldier, just like Rose was!" she shouted out, before leaving for her own room, as the door to the Crystal Temple opened and then closed.

Steven, to say the least, was put in an awkward situation. While he was contemplating Pearl's actions, in particular in the light of recent discoveries that he made, and any time spent with her was time spent wisely, it was actually _him_ who wanted vital information from _her_. To put it the other way, in which he were to be the expert on the subject, was going to take some mental adjusting.

Nevertheless, he took a few deep breaths and treasured the moments he got to readjust, as Pearl approached him by the coffee table.

"Hello, Steven! Is something bothering you? Because something is bothering me, too." she spoke.

At first, Steven misunderstood the point, and wanted to ask his own questions. "Indeed. You know how Mom shattered Pink Diamond?"

Pearl knew exactly what was going to happen at this point. He would ask some extremely sensitive question about her past together with Rose Quartz, and then, she would immediately cover her mouth with her hands, unable to talk until the topic was changed. However, today, she had a purpose completely unrelated to Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond, and it needed to be discussed before she was essentially incapacitated. "Yes, I do know that, let's not talk about that! Let's instead talk about how you use the modern human communication apparatus!"

"The phone." Steven bluntly stated.

"Yes, the phone! So, from what I hear, you can use it to send these... 'text massages'? I don't really get it... a massage is a physical activity, incorporating stimulation of particular areas of the body-" Pearl went on and on, seemingly to try and put her mind as far away from Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond as possible, and understandably, Steven was rather frustrated by the whole experience.

"They're called text _messages_ with an E, and they're nothing like that! They're just little notes that you can leave to others! Here, I'll just show you." Steven snatched Pearl's phone from her hand and put it on the table, and then, pulled his own phone out of his pocket, placing it next to Pearl's. He then opened the text messaging app on both phones, going into Pearl's messages on his and vice versa.

He then, on his own phone, started typing. It was nothing more than a simple demonstration, and yet, the advancement of human technology was nothing but mesmerizing for Pearl, and she kept watching throughout the entire thing. And though she should have really understood the banality of "I am sending you a text message to demonstrate text messages", instead, she watched Steven's thick fingers typing the letters, one after one, and frequently having to correct for mistakes, before finishing with a stuck-out tongue emoji.

"Here we go! Sent..." Steven spoke, as he hit the "send" button. The message immediately appeared in the larger pane, on a blue background, on his phone, and it only took a few seconds for it to appear on Pearl's phone. "...and received! Now, you try!"

Though Pearl got very little from the explanation, she nevertheless knew enough to try. She carefully picked up her own phone from the table, pressed the little bar to write a message, and then began typing away. Watching this, Steven let out a brief sigh, knowing that once this was over, he could just ask Pearl to stay "for a few more moments", and then she would tell him _everything_.

After what seemed like a good minute, Steven heard the familiar sending sound, and after that happened, once again, it only took seconds for him to receive a response:

" _Dear Steven,_  
 _Hello._  
 _Love, Pearl_ "

"Now, typically in text messages, one doesn't really have a greeting or a sign-off," Steven started commenting, "but otherwise, you got it! Now, is there anything else you wanted to know about phones?" he asked.

"I mean, not really..."

"Great! Then we're done and I can start asking _you_ questions." Steven swiped his phone from the table, following Pearl's motion, and wanted to put it in his pocket, but instead, something he didn't really intend for happened. His belly gemstone started to glow, and with that, the phone was away.

"Did you... just store stuff in your gem? I didn't really teach you that, now, did I?" Pearl asked.

"Wait, that's in my _gem_? How am I ever going to get it out?" Steven first, in frustration, checked his pockets, and indeed, to his horror, found the phone to be nowhere in sight. He then tried to pull the phone out of the gemstone, and try as he might, he didn't manage to do it. "This is why I just use pockets..." he grumbled.

"Now, now, take it easy." Pearl immediately started to calm him. "Have you ever put anything else in your gem like that?"

"No... I usually just use either my pockets, my Cheeseburger Backpack or Lion for that."

"Then, finding the phone in your gemstone should be trivial! Just try to think about it, knowing that it's in there, and it'll pop out!"

At Pearl's suggestion, Steven decided to follow. He imagined the phone, which, just before he locked the screen, had the two demonstrational messages, and which had the contact list with everyone else. However, no matter how many details he could think of, the phone still didn't distinctly materialize in his mind or come out of his gemstone.

"Alright, tell you what," Pearl spoke, clearly seeing Steven's frustration, "if you can't find your phone, I'll just find it in there for you. You just have to put me in, in the exact same way that you put in the phone! In the meantime, take mine, and when I find yours, I'll text massage you!" She closed her eyes, wishing to see if the ordeal would work.

"Once again, it's 'message', and... alright, I suppose I have nothing to lose." Steven grumbled, before focusing on what he did to try and get himself in the predicament in the first place. He put his arm around Pearl, pulling her closer to the gemstone, and then, just as her nose was about to hit it, it glowed, pulling Pearl inside.

* * *

"Hi! I'm Surface Steven!" the familiar voice greeted Pearl, making her open her eyes.

The view she found was very much like a certain room in the Crystal Temple. That room belonged to Rose Quartz, and usually, was kept rather clean, with nothing but clouds and whatever Rose wished for at the very moment. That this part of her would be preserved inside Steven didn't surprise Pearl at all, and instead, made her focus on the task of finding Steven's phone.

"Hi, Surface Steven! I'm Pearl! You wouldn't have happened to see a phone, now, would you?" she asked.

"Nope! No phones here, no computers, no technology, no human objects, no gem objects, no weird alien objects..." Surface Steven continued, counting with his fingers. "Everything is squeaky clean here, the embodiment of calmness! It's the only way that I can live without wanting to ask stupid questions about Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond every single time!"

"But the phone _must_ be in here, right? I mean, if I'm here, and if every detail about how the phone got lost suggests that it's here..."

"But there's nothing here! The whole point of here is that here is nothing! Here, Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond can truly be gone." Surface Steven interrupted.

"But Steven _just_ put his phone away a few moments ago!" Clearly seeing her own frustration, Pearl took a few deep breaths, and spoke more calmly: "On the off chance that here is _something_ , what would you do with that something? Like me, for instance?"

"Oh, if it's something like Chaaaaps, I would just eat it! But since you're not exactly edible, well, you still gotta get in there somehow..."

Pearl was momentarily horrified by the mental image of having to be eaten by Steven, but nevertheless, figured she would see what his approach of storing stuff away would be all about. She thus let him basically repeat what his real-world counterpart did, action for action.

* * *

Having gone "inside Steven", for the lack of a better term, twice already, Pearl found herself in something reminiscent of... the past?

It sure looked that way. Steven's house and room were nowhere to be seen, and the Crystal Temple, itself, seemed to have received less wear and tear. (At this point, she also left herself a friendly reminder to actually clean it up and restore it to brand-new condition once she left.) Greg's now world-famous "Mr. Universe" van was parked in the vicinity, and there seemed to be a gathering around it. Curious, and with a phone _still_ not in sight anywhere, Pearl had no choice but to check it out.

What she found was, once again, a familiar moment from the past, though she would _really_ rather it all were forgotten. Inside, there were Greg, Amethyst, Garnet and even a version of herself, all looking over baby Steven. _Indeed, this is how it all happened on the red-letter day,_ Pearl reiterated, recounting to herself.

However, this was when she was approached by her alter. "It's all coming together, now, isn't it?" the other Pearl spoke.

"What is?"

"Since this new 'Steven' human is basically incapacitated, now, we can just take his gem out and have Rose back as though nothing happened!" the other Pearl spoke with glee that she could barely contain.

"Please don't tell me I actually thought this. And if I did, please tell me I wasn't so overt about it." Pearl only shook her head.

"Oh, but you were! Otherwise, Steven wouldn't remember it!"

"Whatever. When I come back, I'll apologize to him right away, is that right with you? Now, I'm still looking for a phone that he lost... you wouldn't happen to know where that is?"

"Oh!" the other Pearl, who, as Pearl noted, had a distinctly "Steven" intonation to her voice, exclaimed. "He probably just lost it in the same place where he lost his status."

"His... status?" Pearl curiously wondered, before realizing what it all meant - and just as she did, instinctively covered her mouth with her hands, incapacitating herself.

It was up to the other Pearl to take over from here. She led Pearl back to baby Steven and proclaimed to everyone listening: "Now this is a little..." She cleared her mouth. " _Ritual._ " She then carefully put the incapacitated Pearl against Steven's gemstone, thus making her disappear into the depths again.

* * *

Three levels of Steven in and with the whereabouts of his phone still being shrouded in absolute darkness, Pearl, once again, found herself in a memory familiar to her. It took place on Earth, on what is today known as Korea, by the Pink Diamond palanquin. Needless to say, memories of what she should not ever speak kept flooding her, and she kept covering her mouth. In fact, after a little while, she just couldn't take the compulsion at all, and huddled up in a fetal position, basically unable to do anything.

Was this how she was put out of the picture? Not by shattering, but by being trapped inside Steven inside Steven inside Steven's gem, forever?

That was when she heard a voice, which she thought she would never hear again. "Are you alright, my Pearl?"

Pearl looked up and saw none other than the lustrous Rose Quartz. Indeed, when seeing her, she almost wanted to forgive herself from the thoughts that would eventually be captured by baby Steven, and therefore, expressed in a layer one above. Yet, things had changed even since then, and today, Pearl would give everything for Steven.

That, though, was enough to get her out of her trance, and she spoke, face still in her knees: "Yeah... no... maybe..."

"It's alright. Pink Diamond and 'my Diamond' is no more. You are truly a no Gem's Pearl now." Rose spoke, but that only served to cut deeper in Pearl, who hugged herself tighter.

"Oh, dear. I've _just_ made my last command clear and it's backfired _already_?" Rose shook her head - not that Pearl could see. "Alright, then."

Pearl only heard shapeshifting sounds, as light permeated somewhat through her body. She then heard Rose, the very same voice, speak: "As your Diamond, I hereby lift any and all requirement for you to keep silence about any events of the past." The same sounds were followed, and luckily, the restraint was lifted from Pearl, so she could look up again.

Though most of it had already happened, Pearl still caught a glimpse of someone - who she thought she would never see again even more so than Rose - turning back into the familiar Rose form, who emerged, extending her hand. "Better now?" she asked.

"Yes, my... Rose Quartz." Pearl spoke, taking the hand and standing up.

"Now, there's nothing binding us! I no longer have to listen to what the other Diamonds say - can you even _believe_ that they don't even understand growing up?" Rose went on.

"It will truly be a miraculous life." Pearl responded, without second thinking. "Now, forgive me for sounding like Sapphire, but we will lead approximately five thousand years of a glorious life, and then, you will... fall in love with a human..." She trailed off. "...and decide to have..."

"Steven. And then, you will be asked to search for his phone in his mind?" Rose finished for her.

"Yes. You... wouldn't happen to know where that is?" Pearl asked.

"It's still not here. I'm afraid you will have to go a few layers down. I'm happy you came all this way, though." Rose spoke, before tightly embracing Pearl, so that she would be pressed against the gemstone - and disappear again.

* * *

Now, Pearl found herself in something that looked much like Homeworld, in Pink Diamond's room. In fact, judging by the decorations, this was rather well into late Era One, and-

Pearl gasped. This, in fact, was the point in time where she was first assigned to Pink. She even looked at her own clothes, and realized that they perfectly matched her first forming. If she were to go one level deeper - even _one_ level deeper - she would be seeing events that she had literally no way of knowing about or remembering.

Of course, Pink, herself, her assignee, was there. Now, it almost looked like the roles from the previous level were reversed, with Pink being huddled in a fetal position and Pearl ready to welcome her to the world.

 _Yup!_ Pearl thought to herself. _This is how_ **that** _happened. Except... didn't I form in Pink's room? There was this shell thing, and other voices indicated that I would be Pink Diamond's... Nevermind. Better play along._

"Greetings, my Diamond! I am your new Pearl. How may I serve you today?" Pearl spoke, but in turn, received no response from Pink.

Instead, she decided to just follow with a pleasantry, something she learned in the years _after_ , for the lack of a better term. "Are you alright?"

"No..." Pink could barely muster. "Everything is... clouds... and I feel like... I'm being stabbed... right in the gem..."

"Well, your wish is my command. Is there anything that you wish for, my Diamond? Like, say, for it to stop hurting and being clouds?"

"I'll be fine..." Pink spoke, to Pearl's surprise. "You come here... with a purpose... find a phone... I know where it is... for certain..."

She stood up. Though Pink definitely towered over Pearl, everything else about her demeanor was more reminiscent of an injured child. She took a few weak steps towards Pearl, before collapsing in front of her, toppling her and making her fall onto the ground, and then, Pearl disappeared again.

* * *

"Please, calm down." Pearl heard a voice, recognizing it as Yellow Diamond, one of Pink's co-leaders.

It would seem that, indeed, she would be taken to that one deeper level, from before she even existed. Whatever was here would be news, even to herself. Nevertheless, she had a task - find Steven's phone - and a couple of secondary tasks, such as telling everyone about the truth of Rose and Pink. And yet, she would have to play along with whatever was going on here.

"I will absolutely _not_ calm down! Maybe it's just who I am! And as I am a Diamond... and as I am equal to _you_... maybe _you_ have to calm down and listen to _me_!" another voice spoke. Looking around, she saw the Diamonds, as well as a distinct-looking Pearl who was clearly not herself - who she recognized as belonging to White Diamond. However, the person speaking clearly couldn't have been White, Yellow, Blue or the Pearl, leaving only...

 _Pink?_ Pearl thought. _It's certainly nothing like Pink to..._

"Pink, we've been over this." Yellow spoke in the memory, confirming that Pearl was about to learn something new. "You are the youngest of us - that is, you have emerged at the latest time - and you are not exactly... the most presentable out of us. Therefore, until and unless we can get a handle onto you, you will not be getting a colony, and that's _final_!"

"Don't even _talk_ to me about final! I'll make sure that this is the 'final' of _you!_ " Pink stomped the floor, making it crack all over. Other Gems, who were not much more than shadows, seemed to be leaving the location - it appeared to be the ballroom, where newly formed Gems were assigned the court of a Diamond to serve - and only the Diamonds themselves, as well as Pink's... _original_ Pearl, remained.

"Pink!" Blue stepped into the picture. "We can talk about this!"

" _No!_ " Pink shouted back. "I don't wanna talk to _you_ either! And don't even try to get _White_ into this!" She kept stomping, and the cracks in the ballroom got worse and worse. In fact, somehow, a crack even managed to form on Pink's Pearl - not on the gemstone, but on the eye.

It seemed, though, as though White _would_ have to step in. Immediately, she, though she had kept silent throughout the ordeal, beamed at Pink's Pearl, and all color, as well as personality, was instantly drained from her.

 _Now that's more like it,_ Pearl mused to herself, recognizing that what appeared to be Pink's original Pearl would eventually come into White's possession.

"For the last time, and I'll not make you leave until you give me one - _I. Want. A. Colony!_ " Pink shouted, her stomps somehow getting even more aggressive and parts of the ballroom building material even falling. However, the cracks seemed to be getting into the third dimension, too, and suddenly, Pink clutched her own gemstone, feeling it cracking.

This was when White stepped in, again, and beamed Pink. And then... the memory stopped.

Pearl immediately figured what would happen next. At some point, Pink would be released from White's grip and assigned another Pearl - _her_ , but Pink's original Pearl wouldn't fare so well, remaining in White's possession - and, for all intents and purposes, being known as White's Pearl - for as long as Pearl was "in the know".

Walking around the frozen scene, though, Pearl remarked one more detail. She couldn't tell at first, but as she looked closer, she noticed that Pink's hair was significantly less... "fluffy". It would seem that the clouds metaphor, which plagued Pink ever since then, would have gotten into her being, thus making her form have more well-rounded hair, and eventually, would carry on to Rose and even Surface Steven, who all enjoyed this cloud motif more than anything.

That was when Pearl, walking around, seemed to chance upon something - Steven's phone.

Luckily, unlike everything else in the room, it was not cracked. Pearl figured that was for the best; after all, if it _had_ cracked, she would have no way of explaining that to Steven, and she _already_ had a _lot_ to explain - and the capability to explain _certain_ things, for one. Nevertheless, there wasn't much else to do here, and if there was one more layer of Pink, there would be no way of getting into it, so the only other path was to go out.

Pearl thus texted to Steven, trying her best to remember how it was done:

" _Dear Steven,_  
 _I have located your phone. Now, may I return?_  
 _Love, Pearl_ "

* * *

Having received the message, Steven was suddenly reminded about his phone conundrum. He, once again, tried to picture the phone - but now, added the detail of Pearl's new message and her holding it, as he would need to pull both of them out.

And, to his surprise, it worked. His gemstone glowed for a while - how _deep_ was that thing even buried - and finally, Pearl emerged, rather less gracefully than she would have liked, holding the phone. "I found it! And next time, don't put it away so deep."

Steven picked up the phone, before putting it into his _pocket_ , where it _belonged_. He then asked: "So, now that the phone ordeal is done, can you talk with me about Rose and Pink?"

"Yes! Rose and Pink! Of course!" Pearl spoke - and Steven didn't fail to note that, unlike other times, she showed absolutely no restraint and didn't cover her mouth. "First things first, though... I wanted to apologize for... certain thoughts I had in the past. You see, Rose meant a lot for me, and when I ended up losing her twice, of _course_ I wouldn't be well in the mind."

"Don't worry, Pearl. You've shown love for me more than once now." Steven winked.

"But anyway, there are quite a few moments where the story could be said to begin, but let's keep it concise and start with when Pink Diamond was finally assigned a colony, the Earth, and I, a Pearl - _her_ Pearl - went along for the ride..."

* * *

 **BLOOMING ROSE**  
 _\- a Pink Diamond character study -_  
2020 06 01


End file.
